An Austin-based conservative think tank nonprofit filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Dallas, seeking to cancel out more than 80 local ordinances it claims conflict with state law.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation filed the lawsuit in Denton County Court on behalf of three city residents who argue dozens of Dallas regulations are harming them. The suit comes after the nonprofit threatened legal action in the summer.
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The group argues that 83 Dallas ordinances violate the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, a 2023 state law also known as the “Death Star” law that limits local regulations from going beyond what is allowed by state law.
The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act is separate from Dallas’ Proposition S, which voters added to the city’s charter last November. Proposition S allows Dallas residents to sue the city for alleged violations of the city charter, ordinances or state law.
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The lawsuit targets a sweeping range of Dallas ordinances, from rules on local labor protections, recycling mandates, restrictions on gas drilling and production, minimum wage requirements for city contractors and equal employment opportunity clauses in city contracts to anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity and regulations on the removal of weeds and vegetation on private property. The lawsuit argues they all violate state law and should be struck down.
“Cities don’t get to pick and choose which state laws they follow,” Matthew Chiarizio, a senior attorney for the foundation, said in a statement Wednesday. “For too long, Dallas has piled unnecessary and duplicative regulations on its citizens.
The city of Dallas didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
An appeals court overruled a lower court decision in July that held the 2023 “Death Star” law was unconstitutional.
The foundation’s lawsuit follows a July notice to the Dallas City Attorney’s Office that it risked legal action if it did not repeal or amend all of the city ordinances believed to conflict with state law. The foundation filed the notice on behalf of three residents, Haley Kyles, Tamara Brown, and Daniel Rodriguez, who claimed the ordinances had harmed them.
That notice referenced an April 2023 memo from Dallas officials to state Rep. Rafael Anchia, which outlined over 130 city regulations expected to be affected by the proposed law at the time.
The bill was signed into law in September 2023. The same three residents from the notice are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.